It
is easy for an airline to overplan, appear grand by luring passengers with lower
prices and then let them bear the consequences of flight cancellations.
As Robert W. Mann, Jr.
put it, airlines got good at publishing schedules, selling tickets long
in advance and generating working capital, reducing the need to borrow,
then cancelling, hoping they could stick customers with vouchers for
future travel. They continue to do this because they cannot staff the
operation they published and sold.
The painful consequences of
such self-inflicted harm come later: passengers will forget how much
they paid for the ticket, but will never forget how they were treated
when their flights were cancelled or long delayed.
What does the future hold for air travel?
